Prophecy of Eden
by Requiem of the Night
Summary: Still recovering his memories, Sora stumbled across an ancient prophecy from a new world. Upon translating it, Sora and co. are thrust into a new adventure in order to save a world only heard of in Bible stories. Contains some OCs to fill in gaps, but I shun canonXOC scenes. May get a bit OOC at times. Rated for possible character death and definite insanity.
1. The Prophecy

_Can you hear her cries, oh Children of Destiny's Paradise?_

_Can you hear her scream in anguish?_

_See her, oh Children of a forsaken Paradise,_

_See her covered in the withered blossoms of her apples_

_See her cowering under the snake's eye_

_Her children, gone, but for one_

_The Key wreathed in darkness has fallen into Oblivion_

_As well as the last star seen from your shores._

_The fire you have ignored for so long will burn once more_

_And merge with the earth you hold so dear._

_The very land will weep as the ocean breathes its last._

_The waves that marked the shore know the Key's truth,_

_But must be asked before the last sea water bursts into bloom._

_The Forgotten World's first child shall awaken once more_

_And will battle the newborn hero for dominance._

_The dear King's lover will become his shame and when his crown falls away_

_The song of sin will be heralded by the music's water in the streets of the nonexistent palace_

_As the last rose adorning the clockwork of history blooms._

_The parallel star will vanquish the schemer in order to save the snake's prey,_

_But the china doll will strike him down before fading into nonexistence._

_The last rose will bring forth the Apple of the Fallen Woman's eye_

_And she will save the Key and the waves, but only if the fire and the earth_

_Can cross time's abyss by the time She, the one you have abandoned for so long_

_Perishes fully and pulls all of Life and Emotion into darkness._

_If the Apple fails or if the fire and earth cannot cross,_

_All the Worlds among the Hearts will become just dust under the sky._


	2. Chapter 1

"_Can you hear them?" _a small, female voice calls into the blackness of the abyss. The brown haired boy within shook his head. Of course he didn't hear anything, there was only him, him and the voice. The voice giggled; soft sounds rather like breaking china.

"_Are you su-u-ure?" _the voice said again. The brunette nodded. He was positive; there was nothing but this, this blackness and this voice and he.

Three figures appeared in the midst of the blackness, one with shoulder length silver hair, one with pretty auburn locks, and another with blonde spikes not unlike the ones upon the brunette's own head.

"_Do you recognize them?"_ the voice whispered next to his ear, a hint of desperation in the tiny sound. Again, the boy shook his head.

This time the voice sighed, as if he had let her, for he was sure that it was a her, down somehow. That hurt the boy; he didn't want the voice to be sad. After all, it was always there, always comforting and pleasant and most importantly _there_.

The three figures became clearer, revealing them to be two boys and a girl. The boy with the blonde spikes stepped forward, putting a thin, cold as ice hand on the brunette's cheek, staring at him with identical blue eyes. The brown haired boy's breath caught in his throat.

The voice came again. _"Do you recognize him?"_

The boy nodded, his blue eyes never leaving their twins, their other halves, their counter parts. The voice sighed in relief and a fourth figure appeared next to the auburn haired girl. This one was a blonde girl in a white sundress. This time when the voice came, her mouth moved.

"_Finally,"_ she said in the voice that the boy had grown so used to. _"Do you know his name?"_

The boy shook his head again, but still refused to look away from the blonde boy in front of him.

"_Do you remember your own name?"_ the girl/ the voice asked. The boy nodded again and she smiled. _"What is it?"_

The boy struggled with the sounds, as if moving his own mouth was currently beyond him.

"Sora."

As soon as the word escaped his lips, the four people, including the boy who had captured his attention, vanished and, slowly like a man falling into water as the black slowly transitioned to white, Sora closed his brilliant blue eyes.

…

_**For a while, I was curious as to what Sora felt and heard while Namine was stitching his memory back together. Maybe this is during that time? Or maybe it's not. I honestly don't know.**_


	3. Chapter 2

When he finally opened brilliant blues orbs, he found himself nose to nose with a duck and a dog. Sora jumped back with a small yelp, reestablishing his personal space.

"Gawrsh, Sora," the dog said. "Sorry for the scare!"

Sora shifted through his mind for the names of the two, running mental fingers through muddy remembrances and opaque scenes. Donald…., and Goofy, yes that was it. Sora's face burst into a huge smile as he enveloped the pair in a bear hug.

"Guys!" he shouted with a voice that just barely cracked with non-use. "We're okay!"

The arthropods joined in his laughter, bouncing about with their hands, or paws or wings or whatever, joined gleefully as they spun. Suddenly, a speck of gray in the otherwise white room caught the brunette's eye. He came to a sudden halt, Donald and Goofy bumping into him in turn.

Sora ignored their grunts of pain and discomfort and walked slowly towards the slab of solid gray stone. He knelt next to it and, in a near dream-like state, traced the markings he found there. Donald prodded his shoulder.

"What cha lookin' at, Sora?" he quacked. Sora blinked and looked up at the other two, his friends, his companions, his strength. And slowly, he smiled as he took the slab into his hands and held it close.

"Something important," he murmured, tracing the minute markings etched in gray stone.


	4. Chapter 3

As time went on, Sora forgot about that gray slab of stone, now tucked in a box buried underneath his bed and some old how to draw cartoons books that he had never really read in the first place. Fate had taken its course and he had found Riku, defeated the Organization, and returned to Destiny Islands to the uncomfortable affections of a certain auburn haired girl with indigo eyes that just weren't appealing anymore.

But still, the stone stayed, hiding from view and forever haunting his dreams with whispers of things that should have been, things that will be, and someone with blonde hair and eyes just like his that he was desperately trying to forget because that boy was missing, should have been inside him but wasn't and it hurt, _hurt_, _**hurt**_.

And eventually, the stone slab that had been buried under the sands of time resurfaced with one of the most annoying and tiresome things known to man: spring cleaning.

Duster in hand, Kairi shouted down the stairs at the two boys currently mopping the kitchen. "Hey, guys! I found something really weird!"

Sora wiped the sweat from his brow and straightened up, his spine cracking appreciatively.

"Be right up!" he shouted back, abandoning his mop and his silver-haired friend in favor of the young redhead and the surprise she had uncovered that he secretly, desperately hoped wasn't what he thought it was, but somehow knew it was anyway.

Riku let a small sigh escape his lips before he too dropped the cleaning utensil and followed the brunette upstairs.

Kairi had dragged the stone slab into the center of the dust streaked floor, where it sat in all its glintingly dull, gray, dust-covered glory. Sora's eyes widened just a fraction at the sight of it, the memory of finding it and all the dreams it had caused rushing back from where he had promptly shoved them under a mental list of manga series.

Luckily, Kairi didn't notice his expression, absorbed as she was in tracing the odd and oh so beautiful markings in the stone that managed to look like birds and plants and the ocean at sunset but still look like nothing but dull gray blankness all at the same time.

Not so luckily, Riku had seen Sora's face before the petite brunette had once again put on a mask of "oh, everything fine, nothing mysterious here, keep going about your business and leave me alone."

"Sora, you ok?" he asked, putting a pale as porcelain and just as cold hand on his friend's shoulder. Sora jumped at the touch as if he had been shocked by a thousand volts of burning electricity.

"Y-Yeah," came the reply. "Just… a bit shocked. I mean, I found that thing _ages _ago!" Both Riku and Kairi, who had looked up as soon as the elder of the two had spoken, stared at the small brown-haired boy as he said that.

"Then, um… what _is _it?" Kairi dared to ask. Sora immediately turned red, faced with the truth that no, he didn't know, he didn't know what it was or why he'd picked it up in the first place all that time ago or why it was just to wonderfully fascinating and that it had been haunting his dreams for the past year and a half. So, in answer, he shrugged.

"I dunno," he gave the most truthful answer he could muster, attempting to meet indigo orbs framed by auburn hair and _oh Jeez, why had he even brought that thing home and not just dumped it off a cliff or something? _He knew the answer, of course.

'_Something important.'_

Riku crouched next to Kairi and traced the marks with his fingertip. "Looks like some sort of ancient language…"

Sora jumped headlong into that explanation. Of course, of course that was what they were, not just beautiful, beautiful marking that haunted his dreams and more often his nightmares and that he somehow knew, just _knew _were important and affected him and his two best friends that he would give all the worlds for. "Yeah!" he chirped as brightly as he could. "What language do ya think it is?"

Riku shrugged, as did Kairi. "My language professor might know," the red-head put in. "He's always talking about forgotten languages and dead civilizations and junk like that."

One problem, it was summer; stupid, stupid summer and they didn't know where this professor lived. That is, until Kairi looked it up on the school website that they had running even during vacations for those people who needed to print out schedules or homework assignments or obituaries for the science class's pet hamster, Myrtle.

And so, the trio decided to call upon Kairi's language professor tomorrow and Sora would just have to deal with those beautiful marking and nightmarish dreams for just one more night.

_Just one more horrible, beautiful night._


	5. Chapter 4

In front of them was a house. To others, it would be a perfectly normal house like all the others exactly like it lined up along with it in this small part of suburbia, with their lawn gnomes and plastic flamingos that stared at the three with menacing black paint eyes. But this wasn't exactly the case, as you have undoubtedly guessed.

This was the home of Kairi's language professor, Professor Donningson, PhD, and through the window Sora could just barely see a row of bookshelves, maps of the world tacked up on to the walls, and an old rickety looking projector that he knew he had seen in the school library at some point. Yes, this was definitely a teacher's house.

Riku had driven the three to this address on a sunny Saturday that would be better spent at the beach after Kairi had practically _begged_ him to because "Sora and I don't have our licenses yet and you're the most coordinated out of all of us! And aren't you just a _teeny-weeny _bit curious about the stone?"

Said redhead was currently knocking frantically on the door, the stone slab under her arms. Riku leaned against the mailbox, oozing boredom and nonchalance from every pore. Kairi kept thumping on the door even as her teacher opened it. In consequence, she ended up bonking him on his rather large, cucumber-like nose.

The redhead squeaked and started stuttering out apologies at a speed akin to Sora on a sugar high. Professor Donningson just waved the apologies away.

"Hello, Kairi. To what do I owe this unexpected and, frankly, unwanted pleasure?" he droned out, oozing even more boredom than Riku.

Sora took advantage of the moment to get a good look at him. Professor Donningson was a tall, lanky man with thin limbs and fingers that reminded Sora of pencils. His large and red nose was bumpy and misshapen, like he'd broken it a few times, his graying hair was less than full and youthful, and through thick wire spectacles, intelligent green-blue eyes could be seen under the hugest, bushiest eyebrows the young brunette had ever seen.

Kairi's eyes sparkled as she held out the slab for him to see. "Sora found this thing _ages _ago and Riku thought it might be an ancient language, so of course we came to _you_ for advice, Mr. Donningson~!" she gushed, her words coated with so much honey Sora almost expected his blood sugar to go up. Kairi was a master of flattery.

Mr. Donningson looked at the three with surprise. "Well, then, Kairi," he said in a deadpan voice. "I didn't even know that you knew about my fetish for ancient civilizations. Frankly, I thought you were always napping in the back row with Miss Selphie."

At this, Kairi turned as red as her hair. "Oh… um, of course not, sir! I'm fascinated by ancient civilizations, I really am!"

The language professor visibly brightened. "Well, then, maybe you would like to come to my lecture this weekend on ancient Mesopotamia…"

Sora pretty much tuned him out after that, but he guessed that Kairi agreed because she was sending Riku and him looks that screamed "help me!"

Kairi eventually managed to get the Professor to look at the slab and get everything back to the matter at hand. Professor Donningson took the slab in his hands, surveying it and murmuring things that none of the teens understood, occasionally saying something like "hm… fascinating…" or "oh, wonderful…"

Riku snapped his fingers in front of the Professor's thick lenses.

Immediately the middle-aged man snapped back to reality. "Oh, my apologies, children," he said calmly, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with some sort of cloth he took out of his pocket. "I…., think you'd better come inside."

…

Under a tree, in a small hollow in a world that no one thought about any more, a small spark of life stirred.

_It was almost time._


	6. Chapter 5

As the trio of adolescents followed the teacher inside, one singular question rang through their minds: _What was so odd about the tablet?_

After all, from Kairi's description, Sora and Riku had derived that Professor Donningson was a very reclusive man who hated having any sort of company, be it a student wanting an extension on some project or a long-lost cousin from somewhere far off.

So, why then did he draw the three into his home, this nearly sacred place that so few had entered and come out alive?

The answer, they guessed, was on the stone cradled almost lovingly in the professor's arms. And so, they tramped into the foyer where they were not quite gently urged to take off their shoes and then into the living room Sora had glimpsed, just barely, from that dusty front window.

The professor gently placed the stone on the coffee table, not even caring that the granite would most undoubtedly scratch the glassy surface. Kairi and the boys perched themselves awkwardly on the edge of a rather stained, plaid patterned couch that smelled strongly of moth balls. The professor straightened from where he was leaning over the stone and gave the three a penetrating glance.

Sora, the one most susceptible to the infamous "teacher glare", gulped loudly.

"Children," the professor began. "How, may I ask, did you acquire this stone?" Riku and Kairi looked at Sora, who was between them

Sora gulped once more before stuttering out "Um… well, I just found it… on one of my…. You know… adventures…"

The professor nodded curtly, stare not softening one bit. "And, may I ask, in what world exactly did you find it?"

"Um… Twilight Town, I think."

"Well, Sora, if this is indeed true, then how did a stone tablet from a fallen world somehow get into the modern realm of Twilight Town?!"

The three teens gaped at the less than young professor. Fallen world? Now, that was odd.

It was Riku who chimed in this time. "Well, sir, perhaps someone just put it there for Sora to find."

Professor Donningson surveyed Riku for a moment, then turned away and began pacing the small room, his legs and sides bumping into chairs and book shelves.

"Are you three even aware of what this tablet says?"

All three shook their heads in unison. At this, Professor Donningson smiled predatorily.

"Well, dear children, this tablet is a _prophecy_! And an ancient one, at that!"

The trio blinked simultaneously, and then turned their gaze to the beautiful _(horrible) _markings that resided there. Kairi cocked her head like a curious puppy. Riku crossed his arms and harrumphed. But Sora, the one who had dreamt of this stone for so, so long, nodded.

The professor smiled, a kind, genuine smile. "So, Sora, I take it that you believe me?"

The brunette nodded once. "Um… what world did it come from?"

Professor Donningson paused, leaned down, and traced some of the marking along the edges for a moment. He stood up, his spine creaking audibly, and then turned to look at his youthful audience.

"Eden."


	7. Chapter 6

The young (supposedly captive) audience stared at him for a moment and then, suddenly, burst into laughter. Professor Donningson puffed out his cheeks like an irritated toad and waited until they were done before speaking.

"And what, dear children, is so _funny_?" he asked, turquoise eyes a-glitter with ferocity.

Riku wiped a mirthful tear from the corner of his eye. "S-Sorry, Prof, it's just th-that... Eden?! Come on, that old Bible story?"

Professor Donningson glared at the silver-haired boy until seriousness returned to the small atmosphere.

"Yes, my silver-haired friend, Eden; 'that old Bible story', as you say. And no, it is _not _just a Bible story. Eden is very, very real. And very, very old," he stated seriously.

Sora blinked and stared at Professor Donningson. According to the story, Eden was a paradise; a gardener's dream, full of plants and flowers that would make any horticulturist faint in awe. But, that wasn't like the land of his dreams. The land he saw in his dreams was dead, gray, bleak. The exact opposite of what Eden should look like, in short.

Professor Donningson smiled condescendingly. "Don't believe me, hm? Just another old coot, raving about something that doesn't exist, is that what you think I am? Hm?" he almost whispered, perching himself on the edge of a large brown arm-chair.

The three teens squirmed under his gaze because of course it was true, of course this man with the turquoise stare and cucumber nose was just an old coot, ranting about a world that doesn't exist.

The professor leaned back in his chair, watching the three from over steepled fingertips. "Anyhow, coot or no, I think you really _do _want to know what this tablet says, hm?"

All three nodded, staying silent so the professor could continue.

"Well, like I just said, it is a prophecy. And this prophecy, I believe, ties into Destiny Islands, in a way," with this, he stood up and traced the markings again and again, leaving the teens in a state of awkward suspense. Finally, he placed his finger on a marking that looked like a dancing leaf mixed with a flying bird near the top.

"Starting here, it says 'Can you hear her cries, oh Children of Destiny's Paradise? Can you hear her scream in anguish?See her, oh Children of a forsaken Paradise,see her covered in the withered blossoms of her apples. See her cowering under the snake's eye. Her children, gone, but for one.' Now, doesn't that sound familiar? Destiny's Paradise? I, for one, think of our lovely home as a paradise, don't you?"

The three nodded, transfixed as the professor continued_._

"'The Key wreathed in darkness has fallen into Oblivion, as well as the last star seen from your shores. The fire you have ignored for so long will burn once more and will merge with the earth you hold so dear.' This is rather ominous, isn't it? The last star from our shores, hm? As we all know, every star in the sky is a separate world, so having the 'last star' vanishing would mean that all the others are gone as well. But I can't understand what this whole 'Key' thing is. Do you children know?"

Kairi sent Riku a look over Sora's head, while said brunette squirmed in his seat and stared at his lap. Naturally, they knew what it meant. The "Key" was Sora, so the "Key wreathed in darkness" had to be….

_Roxas__._


	8. Chapter 7

Professor Donningson missed the look, of course, as adults have a way of missing the most obvious of things. He continued on speaking as if nothing had happened.

"Any ideas? No?" he said, looking over his glasses at the three. They all shook their heads seriously. "Very well. I can obviously attempt to teach you three the wonders of Edonian language, but it would most likely be a lost cause as well as bore the lot of you to death."

Sora smiled sheepishly. "Well, the Key thing seems… interesting, but we really should go…"

"Fine, fine, leave. Go back to you gallivanting, adolescent antics," Professor Donningson drawled, waved his hand lazily in the air before resting it once again on the tablet. "Sora, do you mind if I keep this artifact with me for… Examination?"

Sora nodded, as did the two on either side of him. In an instant, the three were shooed out the lawn and the professor was telling them to stop by tomorrow to see if he found more and "Oh, and Kairi, don't forget about that lecture! We've found fossilized camel dung!"

Kairi groaned as the door slammed. "You guys own me _big time_."

Riku slapped her on the back playfully. "Come on, Kai," he said. "Frankly, I'm jealous. One Saturday afternoon in a hot, stinky lecture hall full of nerds learning about camel dung. Every teenagers dream!" This sent the two boys into another fit of laughter.

Kairi gave them a half-hearted death glare and stormed off, leaving the two of them leaning against each other in fits of overpowering giggles.

…

That night, Sora flopped onto his bed and sighed contentedly. At least the tablet was gone, or out of his hair, at least, so maybe tonight he could get some real sleep.

_He hoped._

With that final thought, the small brunette drifted off into oblivion…


	9. Chapter 8

_This wasn't what his dreams should look like._

Sora knew this very, very well, and yet his dreams had been like this for so, so long: blank and gray, just like a movie screen waiting for the projector to start and for the film to begin. In a way, it was beautiful, and these were the only moments when he had peace before the real horrors began.

Slowly, the world of gray transisted to a world of black and red and purple. Sora looked around and, through the claw like branches of the dead, dead trees, saw the figure of a girl. Instantly, he knew that this dream was different from the others.

There were never any people in his dreams now, never. _At least, not living ones. _

He pushed aside a dream branch, almost feeling the rough bark under his tanned fingers, and moved towards the girl, but found he could go no farther. Still he tried to press onward, to see this figment more clearly. He could just barely make out waist length brown hair...

A small, female voice whispered in his ear, not unlike the tiny, broken voice of Naminé so many years ago.

"_I've been here so long…, alone. It's not that bad…. Once you get used to it."_

Sora shuddered and tried to back up, in strict contrast from only moments before, only finding that he couldn't move. The world around him melted again into grayness, but the voice stayed.

_ "Is it normal, to not feel anything but grief? The serpent says so, but I'm not so sure."_

Surprisingly, the figure of the girl had stayed, mist swirling about her thin ankles.

"_Spending so long alone can't be good for the mind, nor can this constant ache for this thing called 'happiness'."_

Slowly, the girl, too, began to fade.

"_Maybe, if I had done something differently…"_

Sora tried to reach for her, wanting to go towards the very thing he had just wanted to back away from, to put a hand on that thin looking shoulder and see her face, tell her something…. Something he couldn't remember anymore…

"_Things would have turned out differently on that day."_

Sora was aching to run to her. Somehow, he just knew that this voice was hers; these pains were hers, and maybe even something inside was hers.

"_It's so hard when a link to another is severed."_

But maybe _he_ wasn't hers, maybe it was something that should be in him but wasn't, some tiny fragment of information that was meant only for this girl that he so desperately wanted to touch.

_ "Every day, I replay the scenes in my head."_

Sora stayed still against his struggle, deep in this disembodied yearning, watching the blank grayness with saddened blue eyes. Slowly, a shape appeared in front of him. As it became clearer, he saw it was a woman.

She was beautiful, in a way. She looked no more than twenty-five, with a blissful smile and a small, delicate hand on her rounded belly. Soft brown hair framed a round face where small glasses perched on a fragile ski slope nose. She was only a little taller than Sora. She looked motherly, and not just because she was obviously pregnant.

_"Yoki Tsukinaku, age twenty-six. Wife, school teacher, expecting mother."_

Sora looked closer at the woman, who was facing his left so he saw her at an angle. She seemed so happy…

_ "Killed by Heartless while protecting her third grade class."_

Sora gaped as the image was splattered with blood and faded away. He suppressed a shiver and kept watching as another image appeared in front of him.

This time it was two boys, looking only around eight or nine, frozen with laughter in their eyes and their feet in a skip. They were identical in every way, except that one was wearing a blue shirt and the other was wearing green. Each had dark brown, spiky hair that hung over their face and into their green eyes. Sora smiled a bit when he saw that they were holding hands.

_"Roddie and Fergie Kimura, age eight. Twins, inseparable since birth."_

To Sora's growing horror, this image, too, became stained bright red.

"_Killed attempting to bring Mrs. Tsukinaku's body back into the schoolhouse. Roddie could have saved himself, but refused to abandon his brother to the darkness."_

Sora wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't, _couldn't_, _**couldn't**_. His eyes just refused to obey as yet another figure marched onto the stage of his mind.

This one was a teenage girl, with long dirty blonde hair that hung into her slightly muddy blue eyes. She looked like she was singing, sitting on a stool with a guitar in her lithe hands.

Once again, this image was splattered with red and the voice whispered the girl's name, age, who she was, and how she had died.

Only to be replaced with another…. And another…. And another…

This kept going, on and on, until Sora lost track of how many people had been shown to him, only to be killed in a bloody red stain. He felt sorry for the voice, and still felt that yearning. She had seen a lot, hadn't she? Finally, the stream slowed and one last figure stood before him.

It was a boy, about eight or maybe nine, with shining orange hair and sky blue eyes, not unlike Sora's own, glinting with cocky intelligence. His left hand was lifted into thumbs up and his young, freckled face was pulled in a smirk filled smile.

Sora sighed, wanted to press his hands into his eyes, anything to keep from learning the boy's fate, most likely death at the hands of the Heartless or the darkness. The voice almost hesitated before saying:

"_Brian Ryoushima, age nine. Son, older brother, Little League champion."_

Screw covering his eyes, Sora would give anything to stuff up his ears at this point.

"_Killed while pushing his younger sister up into a tree so that she could be spared."_

The blood came, and Sora watched the boy fade into gray. Surprisingly, another figure came up before him, a little girl with big brown eyes and waist length brown hair, wearing a leather coat that would have better fitted a middle-aged man with broad shoulders. A blue, rather old-looking sash was wrapped around her waist, the end clutched in her small fingers.

She looked up at him with those big brown eyes and…. blinked.

Sora would have gasped if he could, but he didn't. The voice was barely audible this time around.

"_Kiseki Ryoushima; aged six at the time of the fall. Daughter, younger sister to Brian Ryoushima."_

Sora was almost desperately hoping that he would wake up. He didn't want to see the blood stain that tiny face and he didn't want to see her fade away into the horrible gray. He wanted to shout at the voice to shut up, to leave this one alone, to let her live. But of course, he couldn't.

"_Only survivor of the fall of Eden."_

Before he could really register what the voice had said, the dream faded and he was back, if reluctantly, in the world of wakefulness, his body drenched in sweat and an image of big brown eyes seared into his eyelids.


	10. Chapter 9

That night, Sora barely got even a few more minutes of sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, the little girl's stare burned him through his eyelids. Whenever that happened, he was wide awake in an instant.

It was because of that tiny face that he was half asleep in Riku's car the next morning as they drove to Professor Donningson's, jerking awake whenever they hit a pothole or took a sharp turn. He finally fully awoke with a jerk to Kairi nudging him and saying that it they were here already.

Sora groaned and rubbed his eyes, sliding out of the car to stand beside his well rested best friends. The three trudged up the disheveled gravel path way, still trying to ignore the stares of the demonic lawn gnomes and flamingos. Once again, Kairi was too zealous in her knocking and bonked Professor Donningson on the nose.

They were once again ushered into the untidy, map strewn living room and forced to sit on the plaid patterned, moth ball couch. While Riku and Kairi attempted to shift into a more comfortable position, Sora stared at the beautiful _(horrible, awful, wonderful) _gray tablet that once again lay on the glass-topped coffee table, undoubtedly leaving scratches that no window cleaner could fix.

Professor Donningson smiled the odd, creepy smile that teachers only gave when their least favorite student got a failing grade or when they were about to give out a pop quiz. The three teens, all too familiar with that smile, squirmed in the seats.

"Well, children, I have deciphered the rest of our mysterious little prophecy. Care to listen?" Professor Donningson said, still not dropping that horribly delighted smile.

Riku and Kairi exchanged nervous glances over Sora's head, while the small brunette nodded vigorously. After all, the dream had said 'only survivor of the fall of Eden', right? If learning this prophecy could help him figure out who that little girl was and if she really did survive, he would do anything.

Donningson's smile grew even wider, if that was even possible considering the narrow, stretched structure of his face. "Wonderful! Well, my dear, dear children, this tablet goes on for quite some time about a Key and a fallen woman, whom I assume is a metaphor for Eden itself. And judging by your expressions yesterday, you three know something about this 'Key' that you are not telling me. Am I correct in saying this?"

Complete and utter silence followed the Professor's statement. Finally, Sora nodded his consent, Riku and Kairi soon following his lead.

"Yeah, we know something," Riku said, taking on a nasal imitation of Professor Donningson's voice. "We can obviously attempt to teach you the wonders of our theory, but it would most likely be a lost cause as well as bore your adult mind to death."

Kairi and Sora snickered behind their hands. Professor Donningson rolled his eyes. "Very well, very well, children, but keep in mind that I may not be inclined to tell you the rest of the prophecy."

The three stared at the professor, then looked to each other, then looked back at the professor. Then, they gave a collaborative shrug. The professor squeezed the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"Fine, and since I have no one else to tell about this amazing discovery, I might as well tell you three pea-brained, bipedal displays of hormonal angst."

The trio of teens was silent as they waited for him to continue his chronicle, like three little children waiting for story time. Professor Donningson sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Alrighty, then," he began. "It goes on to say that the sea itself will die and the land will weep in mourning for it. Someone from the 'Forgotten World' will awaken and battle a new hero.

"A beloved King's love will become his shame or something like that, and something about a song of sin being heralded in a nonexistent palace. I don't understand that part, frankly. After all, nothing can be 'heralded' in a nonexistent place.

"Something about roses and clocks, a star vanquishing a schemer and then being killed by a china doll, a rose bringing forth the 'Apple of the Fallen Woman's Eye' who will apparently save the Key and the waves, but only if the fire and earth mentioned previously can cross an abyss of time before She, who I assume is Eden, perishes and takes all of Life and Emotion with it.

"The last bit says that is the Apple fails or if the fire and earth don't cross, all the worlds will be dust under the sky."

Riku and Kairi were silent, staring at the tablet with wide eyes. Sora buried his face in his hands. A riddle, a stupid riddle! He would never find out about the girl now. Kairi put a hand on his shoulder as if she understood his distress, but that was impossible, he had never told her or Riku about the dream, especially not the one last night and not about the girl. The girl was his secret and _only _his.

Professor Donningson surveyed the scene with a bored expression. "Sora, is there a reason you are showing such drama upon hearing this?"

Sora looked up and met the grouchy teacher's expression. He gave him something as close to his usual smile as he could manage. "Oh, no, sir, not at all."


	11. Chapter 10

The next thing any of the "pea-brained, bipedal displays of hormonal angst" knew, they were back out on Professor Donningson's lawn with the stone firmly grasped in Riku's arm (Sora didn't want to touch it and Kairi complained that it was to heavy) with a firm warning to not crush the begonias on the way out and to tell a museum curator about the stone soon.

"And I mean soon, not next year!" came the grumpy reply from their not-so-gracious host as he slammed the door.

Sora turned to Kairi and, with his most solemn voice and expression, said "Well, Kairi, I do believe that your language professor is a butt head."

All three teens burst into uproarious laughter, that is, until a very angry "I heard that!" resounded from behind the quickly opening door. The three could have won a thirty meter dash with the pace they set towards Riku's car.

And so they were off, the stone now perched firmly on Kairi's lap as Riku drove them into the metaphorical sunset, since it was still mid-afternoon.

Once they reached a stop light, Riku idled the car and turned to look at Sora and Kairi. "Well," he started. "We know what the thing says. Now what?"

All he received was a collective shrug. The silver-haired boy pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and turned to Sora. "You found the thing in the first place, dude. Any bright ideas?"

Sora shook his head. Kairi responded by shoving the tablet into his hands. He promptly shoved it back.

"Oh, no! I do _not _want that thing anywhere near me!" he said, blue eyes shining with what could only be assumed as fear.

Riku and Kairi shared a glance. "Um, why?" the female asked, a bewildered expression distorting her pretty features.

Sora turned bright red and turned to face front. "Light's green," was his only reply before clamming up.

Riku and Kairi silently vowed to get the truth out of him before the day was done as Riku put his hands back on the steering wheel and Kairi tightened her own grip on the stone.

Through out this entire conversation, they didn't notice the black clouds gathering on the horizon.


	12. Chapter 11

"'_Little glass doll, why do you cry?' the small boy asked.  
'Because when I sleep, my dreams are filled with death,' the little glass doll responded."_

…

Castle Oblivion is full of secrets. Anyone who has ever visited would be able to tell you that. The white halls have a way of sucking one's memories dry, until all that the victim can recall is white.

Naminé once resided in those plain white rooms; a secretive inhabitant for secretive Castle, carrying the only splotch of color within the Castle walls.

Of course, Naminé was no longer in Castle Oblivion, as far as anyone knew, and the Castle still held almost all of the secrets that the Organization had so furtively looked for.

Should it even be a surprise that, within those plain white walls, another secret was stirring?

…

_There's nothing here._

That was the only thought that had slipped across his sleep-filled mind, before even that faded back into oblivion as sapphire eyes slipped closed once again.

_ I should probably get up._

He was surprised at that thought. After all, he had been sleeping for so, so long… What was it like to be truly awake again? Had the world changed any? He rubbed at his sapphire eyes with clumsy, calloused hands and finally opened them.

_There's a person here._

The person smiled at him, her light blue eyes glittering happily. He just blinked and rubbed at his poor, tired eyes again.

"Ventus, right?"

He blinked sleepily. Was that his name? He just nodded, since the word seemed familiar. The person smiled.

"I'm glad that you're finally up. Welcome to Castle Oblivion."


	13. Chapter 12

"'_Mama, there's a girl in the castle!'_

'_Now, Chip, I won't have you making up such stories…'"_

_-Beauty and the Beast (1991)_

…

It was always so quiet in Castle Oblivion, as Ventus came to learn. No one breathes or talks or sleeps or anything… There was just him and the girl who greeted him when he "awoke." Or, at least, that's what he thought.

There is no time in Castle Oblivion. There are no clocks, no candles, no sight of the rising sun, just silence and white. So, he didn't know when he saw what he thought he saw.

…

He wandered the halls a lot lately, since there was nothing else to do. The girl had told him that it wasn't his time just yet and to wait, but any teenager would be restless with so much inactivity. He was exhilarated, therefore, when he saw a flash of pink and heard a swish of a cloak.

He ran after, but only came face to face with a blank wall and the feeling of disappointment. And yet, when he turned to leave, he still heard a faint giggle fade into the stagnant air.

…

He told the girl about it, of course. She simply scoffed and wrote it off as sleepwalking, since he had been drifting in and out of a daze since awakening, but he didn't think so.

_He thought there was someone else in the Castle._

…

Sora slipped in and out of sleep that afternoon, staying stationary on his couch while Kairi and Riku watched Dr. Phil for reasons unknown to him.

During one of his lapses of wakefulness, he caught Riku and Kairi in the act of whispering about his predicament.

"What do you think is going on with him?" Kairi whispered.

"I don't know," his silver headed friend responded. "But I'm worried. He's just not acting like himse- Oh, hi, Sora!"

Kairi whipped around in time to see Sora storm out of the room. She sighed and got up to chase after him, with a firm warning to Riku to leave this to her or die. Leaving the silver-haired boy with that wonderful thought, she proceeded to chase after the spiky headed hero. She found him curled up in a ball on his front porch. With a sigh, she sat next to him.

"Sora?" Kairi said gently, as if anything of another sort might break him. She received an animalistic grunt in response. "You do know that we're just worried, right?"

Sora nodded. "I know, Kai, and I know that I… haven't been myself lately, but…"

"But what?"

No one will never know what he was about to say, for at that moment, the pair caught a horrible, acrid stench on the wind. Riku quickly joined them outside as they stood to better see the spectacle.

The paupu trees were on fire.

...

**_To all of you people reading my crud thus far, I need some help. I have ideas for future scenes, but what I need is help with one specific detail. A character is going to sing to another character. I need to help deciding what song she should sing. I'm not going to post that chapter until I get five suggestions. That's pretty far in the story, however, so no worries._**


	14. Chapter 13

They were running, so, so fast, and his legs couldn't take it. Riku was ahead of him, having the longest legs of the three, and the silver-haired boy had a tight grip on his wrist as they ran towards the flames. He heard small, sharp gasps of air from behind him, probably from Kairi, being dragged along because of her grip on his other wrist; and oh, Lord, it _hurt_, but they couldn't stop, they had to keep running towards the flickering fire that no one else seemed to see and try to put it out before all the star-shaped fruit-

Wait, _star_-shaped. Star-shaped!

"Riku!" Sora rasped over the crackles and the pounding of their feet. "Riku, the last star!"

But the older boy apparently didn't hear, because he kept running and the heat was starting to turn their skin such an awful shade of red as he was pulled and pulling down toward the forest and the stench of death.

Finally, they came to a stop and Sora tugged on Riku's short sleeve as he gasped for sweet, sweet air. The elder turned with a sharp gaze to the younger and snapped "What _is_ it, Sora?"

"The last star, Riku! The prophecy!"

And Riku was staring at him like he was insane again, but strangely Sora found that he didn't mind. In fact, he felt calmer than he had in weeks.

"'The last star seen from your shores', guys! It's the first part of the prophecy!"

Riku just shook his head and gave Sora a pitying look. "Sora, maybe you should go sit down."

The brunette frowned, lines of annoyance furrowing his normally smiling face. "No, Riku, I'm serious. Prophecies aren't always clear, right? I mean… the sea can't really die, so it must be a metaphor for someone's name and…"

He was stopped dead as a piercing scream cut through the air.

…

Ventus was asking for her name, over and over, but the girl just shook her head and gave him a sad, backwards kind of smile. It was getting on his nerves, in all honesty.

He kept wandering through the halls, dozing where he fell and eating when he needed, but he never heard the laughter again. Somehow, that hurt him, as if some dear friend had suddenly abandoned him.

But of course, that was impossible, he knew who he was and where he was and who he knew…

Right?

…

Moonlight flashes across distorted glass, sending flashes of beautiful silver splinters everywhere, but the beauty goes unseen, as the only one who can see it is deep underground, plotting.

Oil lanterns flicker sleepily from their perches on the stone walls, where mildew and what might be water drip down the crevices in an unending race to reach the bottom and seep ever deeper into the earth. Puddles of stagnant liquid reflect the honey toned light with lazy ease, the slick film of mildew covering them adding just a tint more color to the gray. Down the hall, footsteps echo in pit-pat succession.

The witch has come to visit him again.

A woman of white floats through the halls like an omnipresent ghost, her white soled feet padding softly on stone. Plump, almost corpse-like, red lips twitch over white teeth in a crooked smile, letting the pearly whites reflect the blue flame of the lantern suspended over her hand. A door comes in sight and the grin spreads wider, but does not reach pale blue eyes. A hand that would befit a skeleton reaches out and knocks almost jokingly on the door, the sound it makes resounding with dead thumps.

The bone thin fingers fondle a key around her twig like neck and push it into a rusted over lock. It turns with a loud clunk and a click as the many bolts open.

Vague, sky blue eyes watch from the corner, seeing but not really seeing. The white woman smiles.

"Hello again, precious. Miss me?"

…

_**The white woman belongs to my friend Lizzie. Thank you, Lizzie! You are as awesome as you are… um… awesome! Still need some song ideas and thanks to everyone who gave me a suggestion!**_


	15. Chapter 14

Sora and Riku both whirled around, Riku once again gripping Sora's wrist tightly. What they saw could have been a creature out of a child's nightmare; red eyes with slit pupils longer than Sora, green scales tipped with black shimmering translucently in the roaring flames, and a tongue stretching out past diamond fangs as it tasted the air where Kairi's scream still hung. The serpent hissed; a sound that was almost a laugh but was not at the same time.

Sora summoned Kingdom Key and raced forward, Riku not far behind with Way to Dawn. They were cut off by a flaming chakram thrown between them and Kairi.

"Bad idea, kids," an achingly familiar voice said as a figure picked up the thrown weapon, not even noticing the flames dancing along its many blades.

"A-Axel?!" Sora almost shouted as he clung even tighter to the handle of his blade. The flames behind him roared even higher.

…

Ventus watched as the girl selected one crayon, then replaced it in favor of another before marking the page with red flame.

"What are you drawing?" he asked.

"What's happening right now," she replied, reaching for the black.

…

The cloaked figure turned and pulled down its hood, revealing a plethora of fire truck red spikes. The man smirked, green eyes sparkling.

"Close, but no cigar. I'm not Axel. Name's Lea, got it memorized?"

…

"How do you know what's happening somewhere else?" he said, tracing a small green-eyed face with his thumb.

The girl smiled again and stroked in a shimmering green tail. "Seeing through the eyes of another is amazing, isn't it? Too bad that soon, I'll have to give that ability up."

…

Kairi screamed again as the snake lunged towards her, ducking quickly behind Lea as the ruby eyes stared her down. Lea pushed her in front of him and took a step back. Sora tried to go forward again, but Lea blocked him.

"Like I said, bad idea. You have to let this play out," he said, giving the brunette a meaningful look.

"But she'll die if we don't do something!" Riku screamed. He and Sora lunged forward, slashing at the red-haired man in desperation.

…

"Why do you have to give it up? It's pretty cool, after all."

The girl sent him a sad, backwards kind of smile. "You will understand in due time," she said, giving form to a figure on the page.

…

Lea laughed, dodging their blows with ease as Kairi summoned her Keyblade, shaking like a petrified mouse as the snake lunged again. "Exactly."

Both boys went straight for the snake, only to be cut off by walls of burning paupo tree.

"She has to die, unfortunately," Lea explained, giving them a regretful look. " Otherwise, that prophecy will never play out, and trust me, you don't want that."

"We don't want Kairi to die even more!" Sora screeched.

The snake's fangs came ripping down, and Kairi just wasn't fast enough to dodge again.

…

"When will you tell me your name?" Ventus said, fiddling with a light blue crayon.

The girl smiled and took the crayon from his hand, putting it back in the box. "When the deed has been done."

…

Sora turned and screamed, dropping his blade in a flash of light in the dash forward. Riku was already pulling out his cell phone, dialing 911. The snake slithered off, vanished into thin air as blood and venom mixed together in the sand and the paupo trees burned to a crisp. Sora cradled Kairi's head in his lap while Riku called the paramedics.

Lea watched from the sidelines, crying silently.

…

The girl looked up at Ventus and smiled that backwards smile again.

"My name is Naminé."

...

_**No, I don't hate Kairi. I don't consider her a Mary Sue. I don't even vaguely dislike her. She has been killed off because it is part of the storyline. Please check the prophecy if you feel the need.**_


	16. Chapter 15

In Destiny Island Hospital, Riku paces back and forth across the highly polished linoleum, muttering obscenities and cursing the hospital staff for taking so long. Sora stares at the floor from his awkward perch in one of the hospital's many uncomfortable chairs, his eyes distant and unseeing. Riku sighs and plants himself in a chair next to his friend, putting his head in his hands while keeping up his muttering. Lea watches the two from about ten feet away, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. The hospital staff does not pay them any heed. They have seen distraught family members and friends every working day, it was no new thing for them; and if they noticed Lea's odd attire, they said nothing about it.

Lea sighs and runs a hand through his porcupine-like spikes. "Look, no hard feelings, ok?" he mumbles, barely audible to the younger pair. Riku's head shoots up automatically.

"No hard feelings?! _**No hard feelings**__?!_ Kairi is dying right now and all you can say is _'no hard feelings'_?!" He ran at the older boy, rage in his eyes, but was stopped in his tracks by a young nurse carrying a clipboard.

"I'm sorry, sir," she says in completely businesslike tones, as if she saw this everyday (which, she did, but never mind that). "But we don't condone brawling in the waiting area. Please calm down or I will have to ask security to remove you."

Riku puffed out his cheeks, looking like he was about to object, but deflated almost instantly and skulked back over to his seat, where Sora put a small, shaking hand on his shoulder. Lea just shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to forget what he'd caused.

They remained like this for quite some time, until the sun had set and Kairi's distraught foster parents had arrived, spewing accusations and crying into each other's shoulders until they gave the nurse on duty their number and asked them to call when something new occurred.

After they had left, a man in a nurse's uniform walked in, asking for the company of Kairi Sokin. Riku immediately rushed over while Sora stayed comatose, still watching the floor with vague interest.

"We know Kairi Sokin!" he called, skidding to a halt in front of the nurse. The nurse blinked and gave him a very somber look.

"Then I regret to inform you that Miss Sokin has indeed… passed on."

Riku blinked, his mouth slightly open. He had already guessed, as had Sora, but to actually hear a professional say it was something else entirely. "B-But…"

"I'm very sorry that it took so long to tell you this, but the doctors wanted to perform an autopsy right away; something about extracting venom from her bloodstream."

Riku blinked again and lowered his head, his silver bangs hiding his eyes and the tears threatening to slip over. "I-I understand," he mumbled, marching like a remote control soldier back to where Sora sat in his shocked stupor.

Lea sighed, shaking his head as he walked over to the pair. "I told you, she had to die."

"SHUT UP!"

Lea jumped back in surprise, for this outburst had not come from Riku, but from the formerly silent Sora.

"Wha-"

"I said shut up!" Sora screamed again, tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes as he jumped out of his seat, lunging at the older boy's throat.

Riku grabbed him and held him back firmly, despite his friend's struggles.

"Sora, Sora, look at me," he said calmly, turning Sora around forcefully. The brunette sniffed in response.

"Sora," Riku continued, gripping his shoulders tighter. "She's gone. We have to face that. We can blame Lea as much as we want, but it still won't change anything."

Sora looked up to meet his friend's gaze, only to see tears sliding down the silver-haired boy's cheeks, tears that had previously been held back behind a stoic mask. Seeing them, he also burst into tears and the two sank to the floor, clinging to each other and sobbing.

Lea sat down in one of the waiting room chairs, patiently waiting out the storms of sobs as a tall, brown-haired man stepped into the hospital with a small letter crunched in his calloused hand.

…

In a broken down world, a girl sits in a clearing made of three trees, humming dissonant lullabies that no longer make sense. Her hair trails down her back and to the ground, capturing leaves and small twigs in its dark brown embrace. Her small, cracking voice spins around and around the clearing, withering when it touches the dying leaves of the golden trees.

_"Ah, to discover that the world lacks infinity, this the boy had never learned… And so he still set out, searching for the flower that blooms eternally..."_

And still, the black grass around her refuses to return to green.

_"Keep searching, boy for the flower of eternity, that blossom evading the dust of time… Search for your master, who has yet to discover that he is finite…"_

The souls of the lost still won't return.

_"Standing beneath a tree is a boy holding a bloom, but his face is bone and his limbs have turned to dust… Having yet to discover infinity, he grasped at the last chance that he found..."_

And yet she keeps singing.

…

Sora clung to Riku's hand as the two set out to the elder's beat up old car. Lea stayed behind in the waiting room, giving no explanation as to why and secretly glad that his companions had not asked for one. As Sora slipped into the passenger seat, Riku turned on the radio, so he did not hear as the brunette began to sing under his breath.

_"Ah, to discover that the world lacks infinity…"_

…

Lea stepped outside of the hospital, spotting the brown-haired man as he turned around. A smirk graced his thin lips, crinkling his eyes in humorless mirth.

"You're late again, Terra."

The man who had been identified as Terra sighed and ran a hand through his upward pointing spikes. "I am aware of that, Lea. No need to rub it in."

"Oh, but I love to rub your nose in it, it's one of my few joys in life."

Terra snorted. "Congratulations, you're officially a loser. Now, what exactly happened with the kids?"

Lea sighed and leaned against the wall of the hospital building, ignoring the stares from passersby that his cloak had earned him. "Not exactly what I meant to happen."

"Which means…?"

"She's dead, they hate me."

Terra groaned and slammed his palm into his forehead. "Lea, you _idiot_! We need their help, not their hatred!"

"You think I'm not aware of that?!" Lea snapped. "I know about the prophecy, too, Terra, and I don't like what will happen if we fail!"

Terra sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just… tell me what you did _exactly_."

"OK, I went to the paupo field…"

"Mm-hm."

"I waited for the snake to appear…"

"Yeah…"

"I set the place on fire when it did appear…"

"Yes, I got that from the smoke hanging around."

"I stopped the kids from helping the girl…"

Terra groaned. "That's where you got it wrong! You were supposed to let them wear the snake out, then step in and stop them!"

Lea smiled sheepishly. "It… um… Slipped my mind?"

"Slipped your mind? Slipped your mind?! Lea, they'll never trust us now!"

They were starting to attract unwanted stares from the hospital patrons, so Terra grabbed Lea's arm and dragged him across the parking lot to the park across the street, where he then resumed his ranting.

"We're going to fail because of you!" he screamed, smacking Lea upside the head. The redhead glared, rubbing at the new goose-egg bump.

"Well, deal with it, then. If it weren't for that stupid slab of stone, we wouldn't even be here right now!"

Terra sighed and deflated considerably. "We can't really blame the prophecy, and you know it."

"I'll blame it as much as I like, thank you very much."

Terra sighed yet again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You never learn, do you?"

"Never. Now get it memorized."

Both were silent for quite some time, waiting for the moon to rise and for the singing in the back of their minds to go down.

…

Sora pulled his knees to his chest, curling into himself as Riku walked to Sora's kitchen to warm up a few cans of soup for the dinner they had missed. The silver-haired boy looked over the many labels in the cupboard and was just reaching for a can of chicken noodle when a plaintive voice called for him.

"R-Riku?"

Riku walked back into the living room and sat beside his childhood friend. "Yeah, Sora?" he said gently, putting a supportive hand on the brunette's shoulder.

"Wh-What do we do now?"

It was a good question, in all honesty. They couldn't move on and find a new friend to fill the void. That would be unfair to both the new friend and to Kairi. They couldn't sit around like lumps, since that would just be unproductive. And they couldn't walk around as if nothing had happened, because obviously that was a lie.

"I don't know," Riku replied honestly.

"Neither do I," Sora mumbled, burying his face in the cold comfort of his knees. "Will we get through this?"

"I think so," Riku whispered, kissing the top of his friend's head before getting up to fix their makeshift dinner. "Now, chicken noodle or ham and bean?"


	17. Chapter 16

Kairi's funeral was a dull affair. Naturally, her foster parents were there, crying softly, but other than that, there was no noise besides the pastor of the only church on the island murmuring about how finite humans were and how tragic it was that someone so young had been sent to meet her Lord so soon. Riku had been silent, not daring to budge lest any movement break the small brunette with the Vulcan death grip on his right hand.

After the coffin had been lowered and the white roses tossed into the hole, Riku and Sora had gone their separate ways, each in their respective parents' car, driving off into a future where everything was truly uncertain. And on the way home, Sora's parents were struck by how their son kept singing dissonant tunes underneath his breath, not seeming to hear them when they asked what he was singing.

…

Lea had watched the procession of mourning teens and confused parents with detached interest, something akin to sorrow in his eyes as he waited for the red sports car to drive up to the graveyard and pick him up. Finally, the designated vehicle rounded the corner and stopped in front of the gates, humming like an angry bee as he sidled up and slid in easily, having changed into more casual clothes after the incident at the hospital.

Terra drummed his fingers against the steering wheel impatiently as Lea took his time in buckling his seatbelt. After about 30 seconds of idly fiddling with the gray strap before finally clicking the buckle into place, they were off, neither speaking a word until they were about five miles from the graveyard.

"Think he's got it yet?" Lea asked, tapping his foot to some unseen beat.

Terra shrugged, eyes fixed to the iron-gray pathway before him. "Don't know, but I sure hope not. We've waited too long. We should have cleaned up the carnage ages ago."

Lea nodded his agreement, sitting in silence for a few moments before speaking. "I know, but something was-"

"Holding us back," Terra interrupted. "I know."

Neither man spoke for the longest time, Lea fiddling with the radio dials until Terra smacked his hand away from them. When they came to a stoplight, Terra took a deep breath and closed his eyes, seemingly thinking about what to say next. However, Lea spoke again before he had the chance.

"You're thinking about Ven, aren't you?"

Terra let out a deep sigh before pressing down on the gas again. "Yes, I am. I know that Yen Sid thought that he might be part of the prophecy, but if he is…"

"You don't want him getting hurt," Lea said, understanding in his eyes. After all, he felt the same for…

Terra sighed again and nodded. "You know me to well."

"We've been partners for too long, that's all."

Both were silent again, not sure if it was awkward or companionable, but neither wishing to fill it as they ponder on the old man's words.

_"I sense a disturbance in the stars. I do not know what it means, but it is nothing good. I fear that a broken world is once again coming to close to those that are complete…"_

They shared a collective sigh as they turned a corner to the paopu field were Kairi had met her unfortunate demise. Terra parked, a bit awkwardly, by a tree and the two walked towards the accursed spot to find…

Nothing. No blood, no gouges from chakrams, Keyblades, the trail of the snake, nothing was there.

It was as if it had never happened.

Both men were rigid with fear, ice running up and down their spines with the swiftness of lightning. They shared a look, saw that the fear was mutual, and immediately ran back to the car before whatever had cleaned up the mess came back.

After all, the man who they knew to have collected the blood was corrupted with something neither liked to mention.

…

In a far off world, somewhere that no man who had ever visited wanted to remember, another evil was stirring, albeit a slightly less dangerous one. The witch once again made her way down the countless tunnels, this time unaided by her hovering lantern, past the puddles of still water and the dying or dead lanterns, to the door where her precious doll was kept. She does not take the key from around her neck this time, she does not open the door or unlock the countless bolts, for today her little doll is more awake than usual. Today her spells had worn off just enough for him to attempt to attack.

Attempt, but not succeed. She had made sure of that long before.

Today, she reaches out a skeleton hand and knocks, a sound loud enough to wake the dead, had any been close enough to hear. Today the creature in the corner stirs to look at her, chains rattling like a dead man's marrowless bones. Today, she speaks a question, but like before she receives no answer.

"What is it that you desire?"

No response from her toy, none at all. She growls under her breath, her dead looking lips pulled into a ghastly scowl. She punches the door with her skeleton hand, once, twice, putting a dent in the sturdy but rotting wood. The creature laughs, and no sound could have been more strained or tortured.

The witch growls again and reaches for her key, not caring if her little toy is playing her right into a trap. The many bolts click open, the stagnant air escapes around her in a rush of dust and grime, but not a speck gets on her pure white dress. She steps much too calmly into the cell, hovering barely an inch above the floor so as not to get grime on her shoes.

Just as she has suspected, her toy lunges at her, but is stopped automatically as she grabs his face in her icy grip, fingers coiling into the filthy blond locks. She smashes his head against the stone wall, earning a gasp that makes her smile with sadistic delight. She reaches back and does it again, a bloody scream as her reward.

The witch laughs, holding no warmth, as she smashes her doll's head into the stones once more, covering them with yet more blood and earning another scream for her collection. She lets go of the creature, pushing him into the corner where he had been lurking, waiting and gathering his strength while she was away.

He props himself up against the two walls, gasping for air between heavy sobs. The witch smiles, one that reaches her horribly blue eyes this time, and reaches for her toy again. He screams and tries to push himself farther in, trying to avoid the touch that he had come to associate with pain and death. But this time, her touch is soft, almost motherly as she cups his bleeding face in her hands, looks into sky blue eyes that have once again turned glassy, and repeats her question.

"What is it that you desire?"

Through his sobs and gasps, the creature looks up at her and manages a smile, a horribly bloody smile that she has made sure to keep intact. The creature speaks slowly, as if each word of stuttering defiance is agonizing to conjure.

"You… answer… first.., Oblivion…"

The white woman laughs at the mention of her name and once again smashes his battered head into the stone, spreading more crimson into the dirtied spikes. She does this over and over, until the boy, for he was always a boy despite not being treated like one, is unconscious and once more under the full sway of her conjurations. She presses her corpse lips to his in a joking display of false affection before abandoning him there like a discarded ragdoll.

As she steps towards the door, she smirks and looks again at her toy, her doll, her lucky little mouse in her eternal game of pain.

"Your answer comes first, Roxas."

And with that, she is gone, the door is once again locked, and the lonely little toy is once again left alone with the dying and dead lanterns, awaiting her next painful visit.

…

In a small house in Destiny Islands, another boy is also waiting. He watches the sky with a look of near desperation, his pillow almost wrung to shreds in his small hands. He counts the stars anxiously, only starting again every time he loses count. A song is sung in the back of his mind by a voice he's never heard, yet is familiar with and once the moon rises, he sighs with relief that all his precious stars are still there and lies back down on his bed, clutching his poor tortured pillow to his chest with a sigh.

A buzzing in his pocket disturbs his small moment of peace and he automatically reaches for it, putting the phone to his ear with a muttered "Hello?"

The voice on the other end is also tired, also anxious and weary and sad, and the boy finds comfort in this small bit of kinship as he listens.

"Alright, I'll be right there, Riku."

He hangs up, putting the phone back in its former den as he arises, slipping his feet into shoes that are, in all honesty, a little too big. He straightens, his spine making an appreciative "pop" as he stretches on the way to his bedroom door. He flies down the stairs, tossing a hurried explanation to his mother as he hurries out of the house and down to the beach, still clutching his pillow with one arm. He finally stops, panting, on a pier covered in small boats, all belonging to the island's children. There he sits to wait for his silver-haired friend as the moon rises slowly higher and higher, beckoning him into a soft doze.

He is awakened by soft footsteps through the sand. He looks up and meets eyes with his friend, who raises an eyebrow at the pillow but says nothing. Both boys silently slip into their respective boats and paddle toward the small island on the horizon, the moon quietly watching over them like a large, white hen over her tiny chicks.

Fifteen minutes later, the two were dragging their tiny boats beyond the lonely reach of the tide. Once their mounts were secure, they both let their feet carry them to the twisted tree that had always been their place.

Their place, were two had previously been three.

They joined hands and sat on their tree, watching the moon with a solemn sort of longing, as if wishing that the ruler of the sky and sea could bring back what was already lost to them. They turn their gazes to the calmly passing waters, begging to see a reflection of her in the mirror that could only reflect the many stars that one of them had previously been counting.

Sighing, the younger of the two rubbed at his dull blue eyes, before turning to the other.

"I wish…"

But his companion cut him off with a shake of his head, as if to say "Wishing will do nothing" without the use of the words cluttering his mind. The elder chokes down a small sob and grips his companion's hand even more tightly.

They stay until the silver-faced moon retires to her watery bedroom, until the dawn arises to push back the silvery blankets of the night with her rose-red fingers, until the sun is just barely peeking over his shimmering quilt and the first weak rays of morning touch first silver hair, then brown.

Finally, they both crawl off of their tree, walk towards their tiny wooden boats, and paddle away towards home, disturbing the silken blankets of the sea as they travel. They dock their tiny boats on the much too crowded pier, leave sandy footprints on the wood, and turn away from the comfort of each other's presence as they go to the houses that didn't really feel like home.


	18. Chapter 17

Riku had begun to curse the very idea of summer vacation. At least in school, there was something to keep him occupied most of the time; homework to do, tests to study for, friends to hang out with. In summer vacation, none of that happened. Nothing was there to distract him from the agonizing truth.

Professor Donningson had called him a few nights after the funeral, saying how sorry he was for the loss of one of the boy's best friends. Riku had simply nodded into the phone and mumbled his thanks before hanging up seconds after he had picked up.

Sora was growing more and more distant to everyone, including his parents, with the exception of Riku. If anything, the loss of Kairi had made the younger boy draw closer to his silver-haired friend than ever before. Not that Riku minded. In fact, he was quite grateful to have an understanding companion with him most, if not all, of the time.

The only thing that truly worried him was how desperate for relief his friend was.

Sora had never been one to show his negative emotions outwardly, even if he was going crazy from physical or emotional pain. He always tried to keep up a smile, tried to cheer up the others, and ignore his own emotional needs, but he was slowly pushing himself off the brink, even if he never truly smiled or laughed now, never tried to mask what had happened behind a joyful façade.

It wasn't like him, and his older friend was starting to worry more and more as time passed.

Two weeks after the incident, Riku decided to confront his friend about the small scars he had seen on his arms. Sora had laughed hollowly and said that it was just bug bites.

Three weeks and Riku tried to talk about Kairi during an outskirt for ice cream. Sora had burst out crying in the middle of the street, making his Popsicle salty with wet sobs.

A month, and Riku had finally had enough and asked Sora's parents to send the boy to a therapist.

Five weeks, and Sora finally confessed to his best friend that he had been thinking about suicide, not because he wanted to see Kairi, but because he didn't know how long he could hold out anymore.

Six weeks, and Sora was diagnosed with extreme depression. A date was set for him to be admitted to the mental disorder wing of the hospital, only two weeks away. Sora told Riku that he wasn't going, that being locked up would only make it worse.

Seven weeks, and the brunette started constantly singing bizarre songs under his breath, songs about dying flowers and wilting worlds and evil rulers. He told Riku about the voice he kept hearing in the back of his mind, how it was slowly driving him insane and how he knew that the singer was real, he just had to reach her.

The eight week mark finally arrived and Sora refused to go to the hospital, just like he said he would. He was carted away screaming, the doctors who had come to pick him up having to tie him to a gurney.

Three days later, it was schizophrenia instead of depression, but when Riku went to visit his friend in the hospital, magazines, video game consoles, and sugary foods in hand, the boy seemed fine, just distant and hazy and still humming.

But he had brightened when he saw Riku.

The doctors had said it was a good sign.

Nine weeks, they tried medication. Sora said it just made the voice sing louder, sound more hurt and sad and he couldn't stand hearing her like that. They took him off the pills and tried something different.

The day after they quit on the pills, Riku once again came to visit. Sora had automatically brightened and pulled his friend into a tight, desperate hug. Before he pulled away, however, he had whispered in Riku's ear.

"Please find her. I can't anymore."

The next day, Sora went missing. The doctors checked the security tapes over and over, trying to see how and trying to find a clue to where he might have gone.

He had vanished into thin air, leaving nothing for them to decipher.

And as Riku looked around the room that had been his best friend's, he realized something that he only truly understood when he had joined with the darkness.

He was truly alone now.

…

Lea looked up from his perch on the hood of Terra's car, a carton of Chinese food in his hands. He squinted up at the darkening sky and counted slowly as the stars began to come into view.

"One… Two… Three… Four…"

Terra sighed and just watched as his friend counted, interrupting when it began to get on his nerves.

"Lea, quit it. We know that it's not that real stars that are supposed to vanish, it was the paopus."

The redhead in question just sighed and nodded, not looking away from the sky.

"Yeah, I know, but they just look… dimmer than they did yesterday."

Terra nodded his agreement, biting into a dumpling. "Probably because Sora went missing. Kid's important in his own crazy way."

Lea shook his head and stirred his thick noodles with one chopstick, his eyes downcast. "I just can't help but feel guilty. If Kairi hadn't died, he might have been able to withstand hearing _her_ all the time."

His brunette companion put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look. "We did what we had to do. If we don't finish this, then Demyx will…"

Both were silent, neither wanting to finish that sentence. So, they simply left it as it was and finished their food, putting the empty containers into a plastic bag to throw out later. The two men stood up in unison, parting ways to each get into a different side of the car. Lea opened the passenger side and slid in, Terra mirroring him exactly before breaking off the symmetry to start the car and drive.

Lea watched the black and grey scenery zoom by with a vague expression. "Where now?" he asked, not looking away.

"A friend's place," his partner stated simply, eyes still on the road. "We need to collect our new assistant."

…

Riku flipped through the channels like a fiend, his finger constantly pressing up and down, up and down, without stopping as the television flickered with a light that would put most normal people into a horrific seizure. However, he was perfectly healthy physically. He was in no way about to fall to the floor in spasms. It was his mind or, more likely, his heart that needed medical assistance as it beat at about three times its normal speed, the effect of the adrenaline rushes he kept randomly getting out of nowhere.

Unfortunately, his poor heart would not get the medical assistance it craved, as the doorbell had rung and its owner had risen to answer it, leaving the television on the old silent movies channel. The door was opened to darkness as a black and white woman pronounced her love to a black and white man and before he could close the door and go back to his anxious surfing, the entire world went black.

…

Shadows are playful things, wanting nothing more than to dance in the silvery light cast from the moon. They desire those few moments of joy when they are free, still attached to whatever they are cast from, but free nonetheless.

Shadows are soft things, velvety black formed by the very idea of light. They are there, no matter what, and when light is there, so are shadows; where there are shadows, there must be light.

But shadows are also broken.

They are betrayed, dying creatures abandoned by the very things they yearn for. They reach for the sun but are cast aside, their soft black tendrils burned and hissing. Shadows are hurting, bleak, and sorrowful.

Shadows can love.

Naturally, no one knows. No one looks upon an abyss of black and sees lighthearted emotion. No one returns the love the shadows give away like spare change. No one, that is, but those that their cousins have hurt.

Heartless are not so different from shadows; they are hurting and bleak and abandoned and sad. But they are also animals. They run on instinct, on the pure, hardened need for survival. They live from the fear they create, from the hunger that they feel, from the very nightmares of a small, innocent child trapped in a dark room until morning.

But Heartless are not shadows.

Heartless hurt those they touch; shadows can heal if they must. Shadows welcome those that their counterparts have hurt into their velvet embrace.

Wouldn't it be only natural for them to take in two small, insignificant teens; children, really?

It's only natural that they would.

And naturally, they did.

…

When Riku awoke, all he saw were shadows, something that he was familiar with, something that comforted him immensely. He blinked his green eyes once, twice, three times before he sees that the shadows are not going away, that this is not just the blur of black that he sees first thing in the morning before his mind starts working.

He reaches out his arms, feeling empty space to his left and metal warmed from his body heat on the right. Obviously he had been leaning on it when he had been… sleeping? No, he remembered now. He had gone to answer the door and…

Nothing.

After that, his mind drew a blank. The wall of nothingness disturbed the teen, unsettling his core at the idea that maybe, just maybe, a few hours of his life had gone missing.

"Hey, Terra, he's awake."

Riku jumped at the voice and struck out, barely brushing a chest with the blow. Before he could try again, the body moved backward, holding up shadowy hands in a sign of surrender.

"Hey, calm down, kiddo. It's just me!"

Riku's teeth gritted as the voice registered in his head. "That right," he said, pulling back and punching the man right in the jaw, most likely dislocating his jaw. "It's just _you_."

Lea grunted in irritation and pulled his jaw back into alignment. "Dang good right hook you got there. Was that really necessary?"

"In my opinion, _yes_."

"Will you two stop bickering like an old married couple and be quiet!" came a familiar voice from further to his left. "I am _trying_ to _drive_!"

Riku blinked, trying to remember where he had heard that voice before. Certainly not recently, the dull recollection was old and faded. Suddenly, it hit him. "Wait a second, you're the guy I met when I was six!"

The vague form in what Riku now could assume was the driver's seat from the trying to drive comment did not move, simply kept watching the road like the "responsible drivers" that the teachers kept babbling about in Driver's Ed. Finally the figure glanced at the younger man and nodded.

"Right. In case you forgot since then, I'm Terra. You obviously know Lea."

"Obviously," said redhead grumbled, still rubbing his cheek, glad that the dark hid the action.

Terra turned back to the road, drumming his fingers repeatedly on the wheel before speaking again. "Let me guess, you want to kill us right about now."

By the feeling of a glare of eternal death on the back of his neck, he guessed that he was correct.

"I don't blame you, in all honesty. I would be the same way. After all, Lea here pretty much killed your friend-"

"I did not! The snake did!"

"Then for some reason unknown to you, you black out at your front door, leaving the TV on, and wake up in a car with two supposedly random guys."

Riku blinked. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Wait, did you just leave my TV on?!"

Lea smacked Riku upside the head in a way that was probably supposed to be playful. "No, we turned it off so your mom would have a bit _less_ of a cow than she already will be having right about now."

"Lea, stop being a jerk and shut up. We can explain things later. And Riku, buckle up for Heart's sake, I don't want you to die if we end up having an accident."

"I already buckled him up, Terra."

"… Whatever."

Riku groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Whatever was going on, it had better be good.

…

About five minutes later, the odd group stopped in front of, strangely enough, Sora's house. Riku had decided about halfway through the ride that he wasn't going to ask any questions; after all, it might just look stupid to the older males. So, as he stepped out of the car and into the light of a flickering streetlamp, he didn't say anything, simply gave Lea a death glare and Terra a look of indifference as they tromped into the backyard.

After three minutes, his idiotic curiosity had had enough of the silence and he finally asked something that had been niggling his mind ever since they turned onto Sora's street.

"OK, what the heck are we doing here?"

Terra was already halfway up the tree in Sora's backyard, so he left Lea to the explanation. The redhead sighed and turned to the silver-haired male.

"We're looking for the tablet."

Riku was dumbstruck, but only for a moment.

"What?! You kidnap me and drag me all the way here just to look for that stupid rock?! I have half a mind to-"

He was cut off by Lea urgently pressing his hand across the younger teen's mouth.

"Shut up, will you?" the former Nobody growled at him. "Do you _really_ want to bring the entire neighborhood down on us?!"

Riku hesitatingly shook his head and Lea removed his hand from his mouth. Before another word could be exchanged, Terra jumped out of Sora's bedroom window and into their midst, the stone tablet that had started this whole mess under his arm. Riku glared at the rock before spinning on his heel and stomping to the car. Lea and Terra exchanged bewildered looks and followed after, Lea piling into the backseat with Riku while Terra sat in the passenger seat, turning to look at the two in the dim light of the streetlamp.

Riku crossed his arms, still glaring at the rock that Terra had placed between the front seats. "Explanation. Now."

Terra chuckled and nodded, squirming to find a more comfortable position while still looking at his companions. "Alright then," he began once he had settled into a slightly less squished position. "As you probably know by now, this tablet came from the lost world known as Eden."

Riku nodded reluctantly. After all, Professor Donningson had filled them in on the information he had gleaned from the stone.

Terra kept talking. "Well, we learned from Yen Sid that something was off in the universe, sort of like a Yoda sense. He sent us here, telling us to find you, Sora, and the tablet and to let the snake do what it came to do."

"Wait a second!" Riku interrupted. "He _said_ to let that snake kill Kairi?! All because of some disturbance in the force?!"

Lea nodded. "Essentially, yes."

Riku growled under his breath, swearing internally to kill that old geezer the instant he saw him.

Terra pinched the bridge of his nose, much in the same way Riku did when he was exasperated, and continued. "_Anyway_, he also went on about the weird singing we had been hearing and-"

Once again Riku interrupted him. "Singing?! You mean like what Sora heard right before he disappeared?!"

Terra and Lea gave each other shocked looks before turning once more to the boy.

"What?!" Terra said, fingers reaching down the grip the tablet again. "_Sora_ heard the singing, too?! It wasn't you?!"

"Of course it wasn't me! Why do you think it was _Sora_ who was sent to the nuthouse?!"

Lea groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh man, this is bad. This is really, _really _bad."

Riku blinked and looked at the redhead, a peculiar look on his face. "How is this bad? I'm personally glad that I didn't go nuts."

Terra shook his head. "No, if you had been the one hearing the singing, you'd have been fine. You're much stronger mentally than Sora is. But if Sora was the one hearing it…"

Lea nodded, as if the two shared some odd sort of telepathy. "Then another part of the prophecy has already come true."

Riku groaned in exasperation. "_What_ part of the prophecy?! _What_ singing?! What the heck are you two talking about?!"

Lea and Terra shared a somber look before turning their gazes on Riku. Sighing, Terra finally continued his last thought.

"If Sora was the one hearing the singing, then that means that he's already halfway into the darkness."

**_..._**

**_This took me forever. Appreciate my 2,880 words! Appreciate them!_**


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